Creating a Storybook About the French Revolution

Writing for Understanding

Overview

In this Writing for Understanding activity students create an illustrated storybook that chronicles major events in the French Revolution and assesses whether each event contributed to the growth of democracy. Working in pairs, students view transparencies

of six key events of the French Revolution. Pail's then use drawings of each of the transparencies and key vocabulary from a word bank to create an illustrated storybookcomplete with text, illustrations, voice and thought bubbles, and artistic adonunents-that shows then' understanding of the French Revolution and how it led to the lise of democracy in Western Europe.

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Procedures at a Glance

Place students into mixed-ability pairs. Tell them they will create an illustrated storybook on the French Revolution. Project Transparency Master I.4A, and review the guidelines with students. Give each pair Student Handout I.4B. Project the transparencies from Activity 1.3· and review the salient points regarding each of the six key events of the French Revolution. Have pairs record the details of the transparencies and brainstorm ideas for the storybooks by completing Student Handout 1.4B. Then give Student Handout I.4C to each pair. Have pairs complete a final draft of their storybooks.

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Procedures in Detail

1. This activity allows students to demonstrate their knowledge of some key events of the French Revolution and assess how it contributed to the growth of democracy. To participate in this activity, students must have previous knowledge of these six events:

• The Meeting of the Estates General

• The Tennis Court Oath

• The Storming the Bastille

• The March on Versailles

• The Reign of Terror

• The Rise of Napoleon

(N ote: If students participated in Activity 1.3 ~ they should be adequately prepared to create a storybook.)

2. Place students into mixed-ability pairs. Tell students they will create an illustrated storybook-complete with text, illustrations, voice and thought bubbles, and artistic adornments-that shows then' understanding of the French Revolution. Project Transparency Master I.4A: Directions for Creating a Storybook About the French Revolution. Review these guidelines with students:

a. You and a partner will create an illustrated children's storybook that chronicles major events of the French Revolution and describes how the revolution contributed to the rise of democracy. It should be written in simple, clear language so that a 10-year-old could read and enjoy the story.

b. Your storybook will contain ideas generated on Student Handout I.4B and will include these features:

• A visually appealing cover with an appropriate title.

• A brief introduction that describes the conditions in France in the late l780s.

• Sections on each of these six events: the Meeting of the Estates General,

the Tennis Court Oath, the Storming of the Bastille, the March on Versailles, the Reign of Terror, and the Rise of Napoleon.

• Each section must contain 1) an illustration of the event, 2) thought or voice bubbles coming from characters in the illustration, 3) a summary describing how the event related to the French Revolution, 4) a brief explanation of whether the event represented a step toward democracy, and 5) use of all the vocabulary in the word bank that appears on Student Handout I.4B.

• A brief conclusion that explains how the events of the French Revolution contributed to the growth of democracy.

• Additional touches to make the storybook artistic and visually appealing-use of color, page numbers, additional visuals or graphics, and the like.

c. Your storybooks may be designed with stapled or bound paper or on a larger piece of tagboard or butcher paper. They should be written in ink or typed.

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3. Once students have a general understanding of the writing assignment, pass out Student Handout I.4B: Brainstorming Ideas for a Storybook About the French Revolution to each pair. Project Transparency I.3D, which shows the meeting of the Estates General. (Note: You will use the transparencies from Activity 1.3 here). Have students carefully examine the transparency as you review with them the summary of the meeting contained in the Teacher's Guide. Then allow pairs time to complete the tasks outlined on the handout. Encourage pairs to add as much detail to the illustration as they can. Repeat this process for Transparencies 1.3E, 1.3F, 1.3G, 1.31, and 1.3K.

4. Once pairs complete Student Handout I.4B, give them Student Handout I.4C:

Illustrations of the Events of the French Revolution. Have students use these as the outline for their illustrations in the final draft of their storybook. Tell students they may shrink or enlarge the drawings on a photocopier to fit the format of their storybook. Alternatively, some students may want to use the drawings only as a model and create their own original illustrations.

5. Allow students time to create their storybooks. Encourage them to be creative, colorful, and clever in the design and detail. Remind them to write their story in a voice that makes the events dramatic and comprehensible to a lO-year-old, like children's books do. (Note: You may want to encourage students to peruse history books written for children to give them ideas for their own. These are available in the children's sections of most public libraries.)

lIT] Idea for Student Response: After students have completed their storybook, . have them make a spectrum on the left side of their notebooks that ranges from "Shows People Can Be Trusted to Govern" to "Shows People Cannot Be Trusted to Govern." Have students work in groups of four to discuss whether each event shows that people can or cannot be trusted to govern. Afterward, have students record their response-which may differ from the responses of their group members-on their spectrum, with a one-sentence justification for its placement. Expect student responses to vary, but emphasize the need to explain placements clearly and succinctly.

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Teacher's Guide

Transparency 1.3D: Meeting of the Estates General. To solve the financial crisis and to stabilize his rule, King Louis XVI assembled the Estates General, which had not met since 1614, comprised of representatives from three Estates: clergy (First Estate), nobility (Second Estate), and commoners (Third Estate).

Transparency 1.3E: The Tennis Court Oath. In June 1789 the Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly and moved from the Palace of Versailles to a large indoor tennis court in town. There members swore the famous Tennis Court Oath, pledging never to disband until they had written a new constitution for France.

Transparency 1.3F: The Storming of the Bastille. Hundreds of hungry people in Paris stormed the Bastille, a medieval fort and prison, to search for gunpowder on July 14, 1789, signaling the start of the French Revolution. As the news spread across France, peasants began to rise in spontaneous revolt against their lords.

Transparency 1.3G: The March on Versailles. After months of bread shortages, on October 5, 1789, seven thousand women marched 12 miles from Paris to Versailles to demand bread. The king promised to give them bread immediately and to accompany them back to Paris with his family. The king and his family never returned to Versailles.

Transparency 1.31: The Execution of King Louis XVI During the Reign of Terror. Fearing enemies inside and outside of France, Maximilien Robespierre established special revolutionary courts, responsible only to him, which tried citizens for treason against the revolution. During two years of the Reign of Terror, roughly 40,000 French men and women were executed, often by guillotine. Finally, in July 1794, Robespierre himself was taken to the guillotine by members of the National Convention.

Transparency 1.3K: The Coronation of Napoleon. Following the chaos of the Reign of Terror, Napoleon Bonaparte ruled France as dictator and emperor for 15 years (1799-1814). He stopped revolutionary reforms such as free speech and press, but also maintained moderate revolutionary reforms, such as the abolishment offeudal privileges.

(Note: These transparencies are from Activity 1.3.)

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Directions for Creating a Storybook About the French Revolution

1. You and a partner will create an illustrated children's storybook that chronicles major events of the French Revolution and describes how the revolution contributed to the rise of democracy. It should be written in simple, clear language so that a 10-year-old could read and enjoy it.

2. Your storybook will contain ideas generated on Student Handout l.4B and will include these features:

a. A visually appealing cover with an appropriate title.

b. A brief introduction that describes the conditions in France in the late 1780s.

c. Sections on each of these six events: the meeting of the Estates General, the Tennis Court Oath, the storming of the Bastille, the march on Versailles, the Reign of Terror, and the rise of Napoleon.

d. Each section must contain 1) an illustration of the event, 2) thought or voice bubbles coming from characters in the illustration, 3) a summary describing how the event related to the French Revolution, 4) a brief explanation of whether the event represented a step toward democracy, and 5) use of all the vocabulary in the word banks that appear on Student Handout l.4B.

e. A brief conclusion that explains how the events of the French Revolution contributed to the growth of democracy.

f. Additional touches to make the storybook artistic and visually appealinguse of color, page numbers, additional visuals or graphics, and the like.

3. Your storybooks may be designed with stapled or bound paper or on a larger piece of tag board or butcher paper. They should be written in ink or typed.

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Illustrations of the Events of the French Revolution

The Meeting of the Estates General

The Tennis Court Oath

The Storming of the Bastille

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The March on Versailles

The Reign of Terror

The Rise of Napoleon

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